One of the lesser known aspects of good diet is that too much of any nutrient can be become toxic. This becomes important in a world where idiots recommend mega doses of various supplements. Vitamin D is mentioned above. The toxicity was discovered before vitamin pills were invented when people got sick, and even died, after eating polar bear liver, which is enormously rich in vitamin D. Don't ask me why. It probably tastes dreadful., but I guess if you are very, very hungry .......

Even vitamin C becomes toxic. The recommended dose is 50 milligrams per day, but some people take massive doses in the weird belief that peeing out all that excess is somehow healthy. Anything over 20 grams a day becomes toxic.

Another lesser known fact is that taking a nutrient at levels well BELOW that which is recommended may still be valuable. The lack of vitamin A in peoples who eat lots of white rice (common in Asia) causes widespread blindness in children, and contributes to several million deaths each year from general weakness and inability to fight other ills. The World Health recommendation is 700 micrograms per day, but a supplement of 200 micrograms is enough to prevent blindness and death. Yet a lot of people oppose measures that are "inadequate ".

The habit of the British navy in sailing ship days of doling out lime juice to prevent scurvey is worth noting. The recommended vitamin C dose is 50 milligrams per day, but those sailors received less than 20 milligrams. It was still sufficient to prevent scurvey. We may need 50 mgs for perfect health, but a lesser amount may still be good.

One of the lesser known aspects of good diet is that too much of any nutrient can be become toxic. This becomes important in a world where idiots recommend mega doses of various supplements. Vitamin D is mentioned above. The toxicity was discovered before vitamin pills were invented when people got sick, and even died, after eating polar bear liver, which is enormously rich in vitamin D. Don't ask me why. It probably tastes dreadful., but I guess if you are very, very hungry .......

You mean vitamin A, which is lethal in not that high doses. Vitamin D is very hard to overdose on, and even harder, to get lethal.

Even vitamin C becomes toxic. The recommended dose is 50 milligrams per day, but some people take massive doses in the weird belief that peeing out all that excess is somehow healthy. Anything over 20 grams a day becomes toxic.

20,000 milligram is a huge amount, but even that wouldn't kill you.

I take pretty regular megadoses of some vitamins, happy that it might only be making my pee expensive. I am a bit miffed that recently it looks like high doses of B12 might cause lung cancer. I have stopped taking that so much now.

I have done many self-studies over the years, without doubt aiming for optimum nutrition and supplementation makes me feel better than when I don't, across a range of experiences.